ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI – For years, Scott Wynne professed his innocence in the 1995 killing of Hamilton farmer Phil Timmerman.

He won support of family and others in filing appeal after appeal. A federal judge even ordered a new trial.

Wynne's story was all a lie.

Wynne, in a five-page letter intended for the victim’s family, and in a 90-minute recorded interview with police, admitted that he shot and killed Timmerman, angry that Timmerman had leased farmland from Wynne's mother that Wynne considered his own.

“Although words are inadequate to express my regret for the harm and pain I so thoughtlessly inflicted on the Timmerman family, through this statement I hope to express my sorrow and remorse and provide some closure for them,” he wrote in a statement.

“Coming to terms with my innermost thoughts and putting them on paper has helped me understand the debts I owe the Timmermans, society, and my own family, and, in recognizing and disclosing my many embarrassing faults, I now realize the grief I caused the Timmermans trumps any right to privacy or pride on my part.”

Wynne’s statements were contained in a letter, obtained by The Grand Rapids Press and MLive under a Freedom of Information Act request, in which he said he wanted to offer a personal apology to the Timmerman family as part of a “Victim-Offender Dialogue.”

The victim’s brothers, Dave and Ken Timmerman, said in a statement: “We were sure all along he was guilty but are glad this is out in the open for the sake of the Jury, those that testified, the Sheriff’s Department, the Prosecutor, and anyone else that was affected by the tragic event, confirming that the right decision was made."

The confession brought vindication to those who were named by the defense as possible suspects during trial and in subsequent appeals, retired Allegan County sheriff’s detective Patrick O’Reilly said.

“Honestly, it doesn’t make any difference to me, personally. There was never a doubt in my mind he was guilty,” O’Reilly said.

“I am very happy for those whose names were dragged through the mud during the trial … people who were very reluctant to testify because they were scared to death of him,” he said.

Among them was Mark Peckham, a key prosecution witness. The defense said he killed Timmerman and framed Wynne.

Peckham once worked at Wynne’s garage-door business and was a friend.

“This is sort of my vindication,” said Peckham, who now lives in Kalamazoo.

Timmerman was shot and killed May 18, 1995, while working in an Allegan Township cornfield after dark.

Wynne, in the statement to Allegan County sheriff’s detectives Chris Haverdink and Craig Gardiner, said he was angry that Timmerman leased his family’s farmland. Wynne had viewed the property as his own after his father died when he was 16.

He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

He vandalized Timmerman’s equipment in the fields in hopes it would drive him away.

Wynne decided to threaten Timmerman in the cornfield so that Timmerman would rework the land agreement with his mother. Timmerman had turned down that request earlier in the day.

Wynne said he used face paint and wore camouflage clothing and took his “most fearsome gun,” a .22-caliber assault rifle, when he approached Timmerman in the darkness. He said Timmerman eventually saw him and approached.

Timmerman asked, “’What the hell do you think you’re doing?’” Wynne said. Wynne said he panicked. He became infuriated as Timmerman walked toward him. He panicked, raised the .22 and fired.

He said the gun jammed after the first shot. Wynne had a .45-caliber handgun. He didn’t know how many times he pulled the trigger, but knows eight shots were fired.

Everything happened so fast.

Wynne ran to his house 1½ miles away. He stopped to vomit three times, accidentally leaving his rifle, never found, during one of the stops.

He got home, called his girlfriend to establish an alibi, then showered. He hid his handgun above the drop ceiling in his bedroom, not expecting that he would be arrested the next day.

“Obviously, I couldn’t sleep at all that night.”

He was afraid of being caught, and “horrified by what I did.”

Wynne said he has lost many supporters after he confessed to the killing. He said that the “vast majority of family and friends have disavowed me,” including brothers and a sister.

He did not mention his mother, who is believed to have funded his defense.

Wynne insisted that there is no legal benefit to coming clean now. He is serving life in prison without hope for parole. He said that if he could talk to the Timmerman family, and apologize, “I’ll be able to sleep better at night. In this type of crime there’s no amends or restitution that can be made. The only thing a person can do is offer a sincere apology.”

He said he has not slept well since his arrest. He has recurring dreams and nightmares.

“There’s really nothing left for me to lie about.”

Allegan County Prosecutor Fred Anderson asked detectives to talk to Wynne at the request of the Rev. Bernie Timmerman, the victim’s father. Anderson wanted to make sure that the Timmermans, if they were to meet Wynne, were not hurt by Wynne.

Detectives said the father might consider speaking with Wynne. They doubted the brothers would.

Wynne says he has nothing to gain, legally. His appeals are done.

But Anderson, along with O’Reilly, the former sheriff’s detective, said Wynne could have an ulterior motive.

If he hoped to ever seek release from a governor's pardon, he would have to have admitted to the crime.